The Whole Megillah by Howard Engel Page A

with all its precious jewels glittering. The richly designed inner cover has become the outer cover. When you described the book to me, you made no mention of the drab outer covering, so it’s a safe inference to say that you’ve seen it recently. And where? Why not on Albany Avenue in the house of your good friend Tony Moore?’
    â€˜Is that some sort of brilliant deduction, Mr. Cooperman? If you’d have asked me, I would have told you as much,’ Lowther said, looking around the room. ‘Yes, Tony showed it off to me. It was spectacular, really. Then it was stolen soon after that.’
    â€˜Was that the Saturday it was supposedly stolen?’
    â€˜It was last Saturday. I still can’t credit this invention of yours, a fake robbery. This isn’t television. Tony Moore isn’t going to walk in here and tell us it was all a grand charade. Tony’s dead. His head was bashed in and nothing any of us can do will bring him back again. Yet all of you are treating this matter as though it were a play, some kind of farce. Well, Tony was a friend of mine and I won’t buy that!’
    â€˜A very noble speech, Mr. Lowther. I can see why you do so well in the courtroom. I hope your next appearance there will be equally effective.’
    â€˜My next appearance?’
    â€˜Yes, for the murder of Tony Moore.’ A silence followed my statement. And that was followed by another. Honour Griffin broke it.
    â€˜Colin? What are they talking about?’
    â€˜Yes,’ said Dalton. ‘Colin’s right. This farce has gone far enough.’
    â€˜You’ve made a serious charge, Benny,’ said Sergeant Pepper. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’
    â€˜You and me both.’ Here I turned to look at Lowther. ‘Mr. Lowther, may I ask you how it is you know the cause of the injury that led to Tony Moore’s death?’
    â€˜Ah!’ said Sergeant Pepper, as though a light had just been turned on.
    â€˜What are you talking about?’ said Lowther, masking a degree of confusion. ‘Everybody knows that he was killed with one of his guns.’
    â€˜Yes, that’s right, but each of you--apart from you, Mr. Lowther--assumed that the gun was used to shoot Moore. How is it you know he was clubbed to death with the weapon?’
    â€˜I ... In legal circles, Mr. Cooperman, in the legal circles in which I move, these things are not difficult to learn.’
    â€˜If I may interrupt, Mr. Lowther,’ said Pepper. ‘No one knew that the gun-butt was used to kill Moore. No one. The cause of his death was kept quiet. Only the coroner knows. And he is not given to loose talk-even to the esteemed members of the bar.’
    â€˜Perhaps you can tell us how you know Moore was bludgeoned to death with the butt of a gun?’
    â€˜I don’t have to explain anything to you, Cooperman!’
    â€˜Will you explain it to me, Lowther? It’s a question of doing it here or down at the station. Suit yourself.’ Pepper even gave him a polite smile as he said this.
    â€˜You could only have known this in two ways, either you were yourself the murderer, or you visited the scene of the crime after Moore was dead. Which was it?’
    â€˜You can’t prove any of this. You have no grounds!’
    â€˜You killed Moore or you were on the scene after he was dead! Which was it, Mr. Lowther? You’re either a killer or an accessory!’
    â€˜I didn’t kill anybody!’ Lowther yelled. ‘I didn’t kill him.’
    â€˜Then you know who did,’ I persisted. ‘Who was it? You know who did it!’
    â€˜Who are you covering for?’ Pepper’s face was close to Lowther’s, which had coloured. He was sweating.
    â€˜Shut up, both of you!’ It was Honour Griffin. ‘Leave him alone! He doesn’t know anything about this.’ We were now all looking at Moore’s widow. Her knuckles were white and